#Indie30 Blogging Challenge

#Indie30, through Bootsnall, is a blogging challenge for people who are passionate about travel. Every morning for the month of April, a daily prompt will be announced. Bloggers can interpret this prompt in any way they choose-through words, images, songs...anything they wish! For more information on specifics check out the website at: http://www.bootsnall.com/articles/14-04/indie30-day1.html

Travel has made me realize how much more alive I feel when I push myself to experience things that scare me; things that I once thought I could not do. To continuously grow, learn, try new things, see the world in new ways......that is why travel is such a great teacher.

My travel style is really my lifestyle.: Savour moments, experience newness (and oldness), jump in with both feet, follow my whims (they usually know where I need to go). My path is pretty erratic but it makes sense to me once I get there (or sometimes not until I am already on a different path). There is a saying in the Lovari dialect that I came across when I was about 14 that I adopted as my motto: "Besh O Drom." It translates literally as 'ride the road' but conveys something more like 'go your way; travel your own path.' My decisions- in life, love and travel- are almost always a result of following my heart and/or gut.

I'm a bit of an old soul when it comes to transportation. My favourite way to travel long distance is by train.. Rail travel fulfills my needs for nostalgia, freedom to move around, and a sense of safety. It feels comforting and exciting at the same time. For shorter distances I love anything out of the ordinary (coco taxis in Cuba,), rickshaws, vardos, bicycle built for two.-you get the idea. I am also drawn to anything vintage (like old cars and side cars on motorcycles). The mode of transport that I am most connected to however, is by horseback. My father and brother are horse trainers and I was riding before I knew how to walk. There is something about traveling with an animal that makes you feel part of the landscape, not just someone observing it. The connections made between rider and horse can be very profound. This is not to say that things have always gone smoothly on my equine journeys; I've been bucked off, stepped on, bitten, and even had a couple of them fall on top of me. Horses, have their own characters and they might or might not like you and you might or might not like them. There has to be chemistry. When there is, it can form a lifelong friendship. The connection is something that greatly adds to a journey that cannot be made with a a vehicle made of steel.

I came across this mural in a little jazz bar in Ulsan, South Korea. The name of the place escapes me (it was several years ago) but if I close my eyes I can still feel being there. I loved it for various reasons: it was hard to find; it was a little out of place (for the city it was in), and the eccentric owner was visibly passionate about jazz.. music. The quote hanging next to the mural really resonated with me. "Utopia: the love of life itself." Brilliant.

Of course what makes us love life is the ability to follow our passions; to be in constant contact with things that make us feel alive. This is not always easy to do: things like reason, doubt, insecurity, fear of the unknown, and conformity all stand in passion's way. Finding a way past these things is the trick to living your passions rather than just dabbling in them when you have free time from all the things that you are not passionate about.

My life is not always sunshine and lollipops. I have sacrificed things like stability, nice (material) things, security, and a support system that is physically where I am, to follow my main passion (travel). It is hard sometimes-loneliness, culture shock, missing people and places, and an unpredictable short term future can make things tricky at times. But I try to always move closer in the direction of what puts a sparkle in my eye. I think we all have an inner compass that pulls us in certain directions... It seems to me that this is for a greater purpose; people who find what they are truly meant to do give something to the world. (Think Picasso, John Lennon, and even as far back as Rumi. All that these people did was follow their own unique calling.)

As Howard Thurman said: “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

(The shorter, less philosophical answer to this prompt is: writing, books, photography, languages, my family, animals, art, music, dancing, old films, quotes, cultural traditions, and about two more things a day that I discover.

I'm going to be honest here: I am a bit of a 'jump in over your head and then force yourself to swim' kind of financial planner. I usually make the plans and then scramble for a way to pay for them. If I had waited for a way to pay first, I probably would not have gone to half of the places I have. I started travelling and living abroad pretty young so I didn't have the experience of having an epiphany and selling all of my stuff to travel because well.....I have never had any stuff. What I did do was arm myself with a ESL teaching certificate, which has helped me a lot in being able to fund my roaming ways. I also like the 'patchwork' style of making a living, as I find it hard to focus on only one thing. A combination of projects to bring home the bacon (mmm bacon.......See? I'm easily sidetracked.) is ideal for me and allows me the flexibility to pick up and move often. I'm a 'variety is the spice of life' kind of chick so I like experimenting with different types of jobs. I've worked as a photo lab tech, security guard, horse carriage driver, turquoise seller, English teacher, freelance writer/photographer, Youth center management team member, cook's assistant on a barge, respite worker for kids with special needs, refugee settlement assistant, maid for a sweet couple in their 90's, and a handful of other gigs that helped buy a plane ticket or two. Apart from this, I tend to keep my expenses pretty low. I would rather spend money on experiences than things so don't fork out much cashola on possessions. In my opinion, material things can be taken away much easier than your experiences can. And no matter how fancy a car is or how in-vogue a swanky purse is, they will never outlast your memories of a great journey.

I move around a lot so I am obviously an expert packer. Hahaha..., I couldn't even write that with a straight face. While it is true that I pretty much live out of a suitcase (or two), my packing style is comparable to weather patterns that carried Dorothy to Oz.. It is angry, unpredictable and leaves an aftermath.

While in theory I like the idea of packing light, this is tricky when you carry around almost everything you own everywhere you go. (This is why snails and turtles move so slowly by the way.)

I use packing tricks like: Rolling my clothes; sticking small stuff into my shoes; packing while drunk; and trying to get someone else to do it for me.

Packing for me is a lot like cooking: it is necessary; I know how to do it and CAN do it, but I will put it off until I am starving or about to miss my train.

Prompt #8 What is the worst travel experience you have ever had? Prompt #9: What is the best travel experience that you have ever had?

I combined these two prompts because sometimes it is hard to tell if a particular experience is the best or worst. What might seem to be horrible at the time can end up being a blessing in disguise. At the very least it can end up being one of your favourite travel tales. Sometimes you have to go through a series of misadventures to truly appreciate an experience.

Prompt #10: What is the strangest food you've eaten during your travels?

-CHAPULINES (fried and chillied grasshoppers from Oaxaca, Mexico. It is said that if you eat one, you are destined to return to Oaxaca someday.

-SANNAKJI in Korea: (Octopus that is chopped up while still alive and eaten immediately after. A salty red sauce is used for dipping. The pieces will still be moving when you put them in your mouth and sometimes a tentacle will stick to your tongue/cheek/throat. Very chewy. I recommend accompanying it with several shots of soju-the local hooch.)

BEONDEGI in Korea: If you like chowing down on food that smells like dirty gym socks then you will love beondegi. Silkworm pupae are boiled or steamed, then seasoned. and sold as as a 'tasty' snack. There was a beondegi cart outside of the language school where I worked and the kids flocked to it.; Despite the smell and knowing what it was I gave it a try. Although it tastes better than it smells, I would be lying if I said it was appetizing.

Prompt #12: Have you ever been helped by a total stranger when traveling?

The kindness of strangers is one of the most rewarding things about travel. Realizing that there are good people all over the world, and that connections can be made no matter where we are from is extremely uplifting.

I have had countless help from nice people in all of the countries I have been to. A chivalrous stranger in Mexico gave me his jacket to keep because he noticed that I was cold, A sweet old Arabic woman consoled me in an airport after I broke down in tears over a difficult farewell. Some have helped me when I didn't understand the language. Others when I was sick. Some warned me of places to avoid at night. Some became friends and others I only saw for a moment.

And sometimes it is not a person who comes to your rescue.. My husband and I were followed by a stray dog for weeks in a little town outside of Oaxaca, Mexico. We didn't know where he came from. He just appeared out of the blue and stationed himself in front of my mother-in-law's door.. Although we were not really in a situation to keep a dog, one day we heard rumours that some of the neighbours were thinking of poisoning him. We immediately picked him up and took him home with us. Just a few days later, I had an incident with a cyclist. I had opened the passenger car door to get out and the biker, who was on the sidewalk nearly ran into the door. Even though he was not supposed to be on the sidewalk he became enraged and came toward me, as if he wanted to hit me. Hobo (we named him after the Littlest Hobo.: Canine hero in a Canadian series in the 80's) who was in the back seat, jumped in and with three great booming WOOFs the man backed off and went on his way. Although we barely knew Hobo, his instant loyalty to us and instinct to protect saved me from a potentially ugly situation. .

This was not the only time that he stepped in as guard dog and he became so close to us (and my husband in particular) that the neighbours were convinced that he was a reincarnation of my deceased father-in-law. But THAT is a 'tail' for another time ;-)

Prompt #13: If you could wake up tomorrow knowing any one language (one you don’t already know), what would it be and why?

If a language genie appeared and granted me the ability to wake up fluent in another language, I would quell my first desires-to speak French or Arabic- and choose Kusunda..

Never heard of it? That is probably because there is only one person in the world who speaks it.

Not only is it a critically endangered language (it's only living fluent speaker is 77 years old), it is also a language isolate. This means that it is not related to any other spoken language.

While linguists scramble to record as much of the idiom as they can, I think that Gyani Maiyi Sen, currently living in Nepal, might appreciate having some one to talk to who could answer her back in her own language.

Imagine if your native tongue were to disappear. So much tradition, culture and knowledge would be lost with it.

Alitet Nemtushkin, a Evenki poet from Northern Asia, beautifully shares his thoughts on what it feels like to speak an endangered dialect:

If I forget my native speech,
And the songs that my people sing
What use are my eyes and ears?
What use is my mouth?

If I forget the smell of the earth
And do not serve it well
What use are my hands?
Why am I living in the world?

How can I believe the foolish idea
That my language is weak and poor
If my mother’s last words
Were in Evenki?

Prompt #15: If you could pick any country in Asia to go to, which one would you pick and why? Prompt #16: What city in Europe would you like to visit the most?

At first glance this might seem like I am being lazy and combining two prompts.. Conveniently however, Istanbul is part of both Asia and Europe and it is truly one of the cities that I have been interested in for a long time.. It is hard to put into words and reasons why you want to experience certain places. Usually it is just a 'feeling' that you get; a certain pull if you will. I'm a moody traveller. My whims, more often than not, do the navigating and Istanbul has been a city that has held my intrigue for many years... Here are some of the reasons that first popped into my head....a sort of travel word association.

Prompt #17: Roadside attractions, national parks, or big cities? What’s your favorite part of traveling in the USA?

Give me big cities, roadside attractions AND national parks. Like Canada (the mother land), the US is such a huge country that you could spend a lifetime exploring it. These are just a handful of places I would love to see. The first that came to my mind!

When I think of Africa the first words that come to mind are: WILD, COLOUR, and ALIVE. I have been to Northern Africa-to Morocco- a few times and felt like I was under a spell the whole time. Africa is the continent I know the least about and the one that makes me most curious.

I have been following the wind a bit lately and so I don't necessarily know where I am going until I am half way there! The last few places I have wandered to (Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Cuba) have all been pretty spontaneous. I'm letting Serendipity be my travel guide ;-)

Prompt #22: Write a 24-hour guide to your hometown (where you grew up, or where you live now) for someone who has never been there.

Man, these word clouds are useful. Vancouver, Canada.: These are the first places that come to mind that visitors should check out. Not technically my home town (I don't really have one) but it is the most recent city in my native country where I have lived. (And one of the places where I have lived the longest-3 years.). It;s a nice city. It's got a bit of everything: Ocean, mountains, huge parks, festivals, international food, and mild weather (by Canuck standards anyways)!

My husband and I went on a great road trip just before our wedding. We got married in Cuba but since it was difficult for many of his family members in Mexico to attend, we took a pre-wedding tour to visit them before catching our flight.. We started in Oaxaca (where we were living at the time) and made our way to GUanajuato, San Miguel de Allende, Leon (where we attended the International Balloon Festival), Puebla, Cholula, Queretaro, Tequisquiapan, la Peña de Bernal, and Mexico City. It had all the key ingredients to an epic road trip: Good tunes, great scenery, festivals, too much food, an old car that broke down a few times, hours trapped in a vehicle with someone you love, a few detours, and pit stops at the homes of family and friends.

One of my favourite holidays abroad is Day of the Dead in Mexico. It is such a contradictory and macabre celebration of life that I can't help but love it. It is deep, yet lighthearted. It is colourful, but dark. It is loud and quiet. It is boisterous when it is not somber. Dia de los Muertos is so full of contrasts that it is the perfect representation of life and death.

I love collecting songs for my own personal travel soundtrack. usually they are by singers who are from the area where I have gone or am going. One of the first things I did when I arrived in Oaxaca, Mexico was go to a Lila Downs concert. Love her songs and style and they will always remind me of a specific time and place (like any good music does.). Some other artists that remind me of past travels or make me want to slip on my wandering shoes are: K'naan, Manu Chao, the Cranberries, Pink Martini, The Gypsy Kings, Chambao, Amaral, and Los Fabulosos Cadillacs to name a few. Genres that especially make me feel like trotting the globe: Bossa Nova, Gypsy Jazz, Fado, Ska, Bollywood soundtracks, Spanish, French and Arabic music and zouk. Paricular songs: Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Gypsy by Shakira, Papeles Mojados by Chambao, and Habibi ya nour el ain. There are many many more and which ones I listen to depend very much on my current mood. I love discovering new songs and genres too so feel free to suggest some!

Prompt #30: What is the best piece of advice you have received while traveling?

I'm quoting Dr. Seuss here and only taking the first part of what he said (I have a short attention span). The message is important though and is about living moments and being present. As a traveller it is easy to always be thinking about the next destination so I have to remind myself to focus on where I am NOW. There is magic and beauty everywhere. You just have to open your eyes and LOOK.